The wait is officially over.
The Washington Capitals announced Wednesday afternoon that they had re-signed restricted free agent defenseman Dmitry Orlov to a one-year deal worth $2.57 million, which backs up an earlier report from the Washington Post stating he would sign within the neighborhood of $2.6 million.
Orlov, 25, made $2.25 million last season, the final year of his previous two-year contract. He scored eight goals and 29 points in 82 regular season games in 2015-16.
with Orlov signed…#Capitals tentative breakdown:
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) September 21, 2016
Proj. Cap: $72,115,129
Proj. Space: $884,871
Roster: 22 (13/7/3)
* roster limit is 23
Even before this contract was signed, the Capitals had bigger plans for Orlov heading into this season.
“I envision him playing with a [Matt] Niskanen or a [John] Carlson, probably more prime minutes as we try even out our defense a little bit in terms of [workload],” said Capitals head coach Barry Trotz in August.
“It’s a great opportunity for him. He’s at the right age where he can really contribute. We’ll look for his contributions on the power play, the penalty kill, playing in that top-4 on a pretty regular basis. I just think it’s right for him.”